Turning Pain into Strength
Welcome to "Turning Pain into Strength," podcast where real people share true stories and unforgettable journeys of strength. I’m Michelle Eberwein, and after living with chronic pain from breaking my back, autoimmune diagnosis' & enduring multiple surgeries, I understand the challenges of "pushing through"and navigating a flawed medical system.
I invite you to join me as we share uplifting stories, explore new ideas, and provide hope and encouragement. Together, we’ll uncover tools and strategies on turning pain into strength and empower each other on this journey of healing and personal growth.
You are not alone.❤️
Turning Pain into Strength
Meet Castera Charles: Surviving and Thriving
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How much could you overcome when life is stacked against you from the beginning? Meet Castera Charles. Taken into child slavery in Haiti and physically branded (under 5 yrs old!), he defied the odds and built a new life in America—becoming a college football player and a dedicated sports coach and mentor, inspiring youth across the country.
Castera’s story is unforgettable. Join us as we talk about how he turned every pain into strength, showing what it really means to not just survive, but thrive.
YOUTUBE link: https://youtu.be/7y34QmBnV0Y
From Haiti to Child Slavery
Speaker 1So tell me about yourself . I know that you were born in Haiti , yes , and let's start with your childhood and we'll save the best for last .
Speaker 2Sounds good to me .
Speaker 1Okay , so you were born in Haiti . Did you have brothers and sisters ?
Speaker 2Yes , I had many brothers and sisters from my biological family okay , okay , now did .
Speaker 1Did they come over with you ?
Speaker 2no , they did not . They're still in Haiti . My one sister is in France now .
Speaker 1Okay , okay , do you keep in touch with her ?
Speaker 2Yeah , a little bit . And then I used to for a while like keep in touch with my brother in Haiti , but I haven't heard from him in a while .
Speaker 1Okay , so tell me what your childhood was like .
Speaker 2My childhood in Haiti was a big struggle , you know , with malnutrition , sickness , disability that I didn't know about , not know my biological family living in the streets , but one day getting captured in the child slavery , which is known as modern day slavery in Haiti , where people are forced to work and they don't get rewarded nothing . It's just them , you know , sleeping on floors , getting beat and doing things against their will . You know right now .
Speaker 1Does this start with children ?
Speaker 2yes , it does start with kids , you know so at the time I was about three years old when I got into child slavery , and so I got captured from the street and then after that , I was branded on my left arm right here . I don't know how well you can see it Still have it to this day , and I was forced to work wow , now did every child or adult get branded . I think so . Yeah , okay to keep track of who's who you know .
Speaker 1Wow , and you thought this was normal in your life at that time . Yeah , wow , wow . So how did you get over here ? Tell me that part .
Speaker 2So the missionary rescued me and then put me in an orphanage .
Speaker 1Wow .
Speaker 2She rescued me for 60 bucks , by the way , in US dollars , if you were curious about that and then after that ,
Rescued and Adopted to America
Speaker 2Dollars $50 , yep .
Speaker 1Wow Okay .
Speaker 2Then what happened was , at that time , a family in Ohio was looking into adoption and they looked and saw , you know , haiti , and the first picture I guess that popped up was a picture of me smiling , and my mom tells me to this day that's one of the reasons she adopted me . And then , you know , they wanted to add to the family and , um , they were they also . You know , they also like , manage , manage it very well , you know , just working with kids that have disabilities or struggles , you know , in this story , Wow , so how old were you when you came to ?
Speaker 2America in 2005 of December 29th , and I was about six years old at the time .
Speaker 1Wow , you remember that date really easily .
Speaker 2I do .
Speaker 1What was the first thing you did when you came to America ?
Speaker 2The first thing I did was meet my adoptive family , and then I had my first American meal , which was pizza . It was large . Ate it all by myself .
Speaker 1Oh , a large pizza . Oh my gosh , that had to be amazing .
Speaker 2Oh , best feeling in the world , you know .
Speaker 1For sure , for sure . So did you share the house with a brother , stepbrothers and stepsisters then , or were you the only child ?
Speaker 2you the only child ? No , so so um , they have two biological daughters of theirs in the family .
Speaker 1They're both . They're both about 10 years older than me .
Speaker 2Okay , so did they just take you under their wing and take care of you . Yeah , they did , but I didn't , didn't ? You know , since they're a lot older than me , I didn't really get to be around that much because it was , you know , going into elementary school .
Speaker 1They were in high school and then , you know , yeah , for sure , high school is a whole different world and then they weren't on the college , you know so how was it in school ? Because I read that you were um .
Speaker 2You didn't like school so much yeah , I've never well , because I struggle with learning things and I think people don't understand that . You know okay you can't just talk to me into something . You have to visually or hand on , show me something , and not only that , but I think that people lose like patience with like having to repeat themselves . You know
School Struggles and Finding Football
Speaker 2not understanding . You know my background wow .
Speaker 1So you went to grammar school in america right like first grade .
Speaker 2So I went . So I went to an all-hearing white school in America .
Speaker 1How was that ?
Speaker 2I mean , it was a big struggle for me , you know . First thing , you know , just like when I arrived to America learning how to use the bathroom , because in Miami I peed in a planter because I didn't know how to use the bathroom- oh , wow . So my parents both you know had learned that , you know , know I needed some work and they knew when they came to school that I was going to struggle with like communication , because english is not my first language right saw that you know , um , I would not be motivated about school , and you know that I didn't know how to play with other kids my age and I had trouble with focusing .
Speaker 1Okay , so like an ADHD .
Speaker 2Yeah . Learning disability yeah , yeah .
Speaker 1Wow , so we're done with grammar school . And then you went into high school . Mm-hmm yeah , okay , so were you playing sports as a freshman ?
Speaker 2Yes , so I started playing sports when I arrived to America Soccer , for I don't think long . And then I did baseball for a year before middle school , then got into basketball and then football came around , middle school , where I scored my first touchdown oh , that was it that changed my moment .
Speaker 2That changed my moment , you know , of how I saw things and it helped me improve of who I was as a person and working just harder in school and real life . And then I did track to like help me with my speed in football and that led me to being motivated to one to continue to play football in high school and at the college level football in high school and at the college level Wow .
Speaker 1Did you understand how big ? It was to be chosen for football in the college ?
Speaker 2Yes , okay , good Opportunity .
Joining Gallaudet's Deaf Football Team
Speaker 1Right , right . So how did that start ? Did a scout see you or did you try out Like , how did that work ?
Speaker 2all the way through high school just writing letters to coaches , okay , in the connection . And then one day , my senior year of high school , I got a dm on twitter from the Gallaudet football coach . Let me know that he was interested and Gallaudet is a deaf , hard of hearing school . Because I've always been hard of hearing my whole life , people would think I accepted the offer . But at the same time I was , like you know , hesitate on it because I was so , you know , used to the hearing world . Even though I have hearing aids , I read lips , you know , I was still just used to the hearing world . Never have I been in the deaf community or had the opportunity . I didn't know about it yet . But also , the thing that really helped me was that I got support from my adoptive family as well to help lead me to the opportunity .
Speaker 2So I went on a few visits to Gallaudet , still was not sure and you know , not really having diversity , I decided that was the best opportunity for me , you know , to continue to survive and thrive and show that I can do anything I put in my heart to you know .
Speaker 1Yeah , that is huge , because how many people would have just given up on life ?
Speaker 2I think a lot of people . You could sit there in the corner and feel sorry for yourself and do nothing right because you get a no but at the same time , I didn't let my Haiti story or you know the struggles I've had with lack of diversity .
Speaker 1Wow , no , you have not , that is for sure . I mean , you are such an inspiration . By just watching your football tapes , it's amazing . Now was everybody on the team deaf ? Deaf , yes , so okay , some people were deaf . Um , some are hard of hearing . A few are hearing okay so how ?
Speaker 2how did the coach coach this ? So the coach is hearing the coach um , he uses sign language . You know , the first time he arrived at Gallaudet he didn't know sign either , and we just he learned . We just helped him learn right , and now it's all good .
Speaker 1Right and the team accepted you because you're one of their own .
Speaker 2Yes , I'm one of them .
Speaker 1That's wonderful . So were there any struggles on the team ? I mean , or did you just become a superstar right away ?
Speaker 2Um , there were . There was a lot of struggles . Honestly , you know I've learned over the years . You know I thought you know not everyone will see you as them . So first time going to Gallaudet I really struggled because I was not great with sign language . I never learned it before . I never learned it before and you know , learning about the deaf community I learned that . You know they can be friendly people but not all of them are friendly . They're still negative in their drama gossip . You know you just got to watch deaf you . But at the same time the positive that helped me so much struggle was there were people that's been signed in a long time , that understood me . That helped learn more about the Deaf culture . I mean , just learning about the Deaf culture was great for me and learning sign language was great for me and just making new friends that can relate , you know .
Speaker 1Yes , absolutely . So you went on and you played amazing , played amazing you . I mean , you were like the top guy , you were the guy . So did you play all four years of college ?
Speaker 2Yes , I did play all four years of college . Now , you know , in college I will tell you that you know , going there you can be the star of your team from high school , middle school , it doesn't matter . But it's a whole new ball game and you know I had to compete with a lot of people , you know , and sometimes I had my moments where I got a lot of opportunities and then there were a lot of time where I got lack of opportunities , you know , and also you know the injury didn't help either and just lack of opportunity didn't really help . But at the end of the day , I I did my best , even though I may not have been the best player on the team . But I think the thing that made me stood out was I was using my story to inspire people .
Speaker 1Now that's wonderful and everyone , I'm sure sure has been really receptive to that story and inspired wow , I mean , that's just . That's a lot of goodness in your heart . So um did , how do you start out telling your story when you meet somebody , like on the football team ? At what point do you say I've really struggled in my childhood and then tell your story ?
Speaker 2I just tell them . You know like I try to keep it short even though it's a long story , but I just went through poverty in haiti and you know , just go to that . The missionary rescued me . Then I got adopted in america
Career-Ending Injury and New Beginnings
Speaker 2, struggling with being hard of hearing . You know , just the opportunity to get in to play football , you know just the opportunity to get in to play football .
Speaker 2Mm-hmm , I just let them know that . Hey , you know I struggle with a lot of things . I'm sure you have too , and I'm here to share my story If you want to , if you feel like you're not in the right moment or the right place . You know .
Speaker 1Right , and I'm sure there's just a lot of boys that look up to you . That's got to make you feel so good .
Speaker 2It does make me feel good , you know . Just the opportunity , you know , to be able to have people come up to me , just knowing the story , telling me that they've heard of the story makes me feel good and that they're inspired . At the end of the day , it's great .
Speaker 1Yeah , absolutely Absolutely . So you said you had injuries . Is that in football you got injured ?
Speaker 2Yeah , it started with high school . My freshman year I had ankle injury . My sophomore year I made it through healthy . My junior year I had hamstring injuries and then I also had an ankle injury as well too . And then senior year of high school , I was good um . Freshman year of college , I was good . My sophomore year I struggled with a little bit of injury from track season okay and um and through the hamstring . Junior year not really much from the lack of opportunity . Then my senior year , you know I was , you know , getting ready for a big year and I was excited . You know I was not the main guy but I was having fun , practicing well .
Speaker 1Mm-hmm .
Speaker 2You know , played in a few games before that and then I had a blood clot that ended my football career .
Speaker 1How did you know you had a blood clot ?
Speaker 2career . How did you know ? You had a blood clot During the middle of the season ? During the middle of the season I was running a , and you know , then I sat out practice and then the next day practiced again . Then we had a bus ride that was supposed to be like I don't know five , six hours long , and you know , I was sitting there I was still feeling something weird , and then I tried to play in the game and I was just slow , not moving at all , and so then you know , I got taken out of the game , and after that , you know , I had another long bus ride back to Gallaudet .
Speaker 2I evaluated the next day , found out that my right leg was bigger than my left leg and my calf my calf . And so I had to go to the doctors and they found out I had a blood clot and that I couldn't , you know , work out for a while or , you know , play football .
Speaker 1Wow , are you on blood thinners ? Now for that .
Speaker 2Finished with it awesome , awesome that .
Speaker 1That is terrifying it is gay wow , and at any point through all these setbacks , you could have given up , right .
Speaker 2I could have . I could have . I could have said you know , I don't want to coach sports or , you know , be a personal trainer . But at the end of the day , you know , I may not be playing football , but at the end of the day , I'm still inspiring people through coaching and fitness .
Speaker 1Right , tell me about that . You're coaching basketball .
Speaker 2Yeah , yeah , so I'm coaching basketball . So you know , my senior year of college I was looking for job opportunities , thought about it and you know I looked at mostly Florida , because that's where a lot of my families are diversity , the deaf community and being closer to Haiti , because I was born in Haiti .
Speaker 1Sure .
Speaker 2And so you know . Then I got the job opportunity after applying for two months and found out that FSDB , florida School for the Deaf and Blind , wanted me and I was an assistant teacher , which I was not a fan of just was not my thing . Which I was not a fan of , just was not my thing . But I loved the coaching part , though Coaching the deaf school was fun . And then , you know , through that time I was able to inspire many deaf , hard-of-hearing kids at FSDB part of hearing kids at .
Speaker 2FSDB . After that I moved on and now I'm working at the YMCA coaching basketball , helping with the wellness floor , personal training and the kid zone . You know , just making the best of it . And you know I just had my last game yesterday with the kids and they were all inspired and loved that . I coached them and they , you know , told me that after they found out about my story , not only them but the parents who were our biggest supporters during the season , you know , showed some love and it was great . And you know , just seeing that makes me also feel , you know , inspired too . The kids inspired me .
Speaker 1Yeah , that's really sweet . I know they will love to hear that . Now you're so positive
Coaching and Inspiring Others
Speaker 1and you just radiate this amazing energy At any time . Did you struggle like with depression ? Like why me ? Or were you always this positive ? Like why me ? Or ?
Speaker 2were you always this positive ? There's been times you know where I struggled with , like you know , with like stress through , like college football , you know , lack of opportunity . Or you know high school , where I was in an all white hearing school . You know I struggled with that . But other than that , you know , I don't really think of it as why me a lot , because I know , like there's someone out there that's , you know , in my position , that was , that's in my position , that I used to be in , and you know they're struggling and I look at it day by day , that you know every day is a new opportunity and that can always help them out . You know .
Speaker 1Absolutely so . Do you do the personal training on the side like your own little business ?
Speaker 2Yes , I do it on the side of low business .
Speaker 1Yes , Do you have a website or a page that people can go to to work with you ?
Speaker 2The page , the page people can go to is my social media . Okay , Instagram , Twitter , YouTube . You name it all After Charles C-A-S-T-E-R-A-C-H-A-R-L-E-S . You want me to spell that again ?
Speaker 1Nope , I'm fast , awesome . Yeah , I'll definitely put that on the . What I do is I do a page like a summary for each guest , so I will put that on your page so people can find you . But the story is amazing and so inspiring . Wow , I mean , you've been through so much thank you , I really appreciate that .
Speaker 2And the thing I always ask what people looking for like advice . You know , I always tell them the best thing you can do survive and thrive .
Speaker 1That's amazing .
Speaker 2That is awesome and I do um . If anyone wants the merch , I do have them at this website called Millions .
Speaker 1I saw that you got hoodies and hats and t-shirts . I saw all that . I'm going to put that website on there too , because that's a proud t-shirt to wear . It really is . Thank you so , as we wrap up , what else would you like our viewers to know ?
Speaker 2I would like them to know the funny story . I did not mention it , but so when I first arrived here to America , so when I first arrived here to America , I ate these huge block of cheese . You know , one night that I decided to sneak out of my room , you know , because I was
Survive and Thrive Philosophy
Speaker 2thinking , you know , now I have all the food , I can eat Anything I want , I ate all the cheese . And the next day I couldn't go to the bathroom .
Speaker 1You ate all the cheese . What did your mom say , oh , my gosh I hope you learned your lesson and you did , I learned my lesson .
Speaker 2There were also times where I was super full and just kept overeating and my dad would say I told you not to get any more plates , you know .
Speaker 1Can't help it . What is your favorite food now in America ?
Speaker 2I like Chipotle .
Speaker 1All the athletes eat there .
Speaker 2Pretty much .
Speaker 1That's great . So survive and thrive .
Speaker 2Survive and thrive .
Speaker 1Besides basketball that you were coaching and being a personal trainer . How ? What else do you ? How do you reach the younger community besides that , just on your social media platforms ?
Speaker 2Yeah , and I'm also writing a book about my life too , so oh wow , that is amazing .
Speaker 1Please let me know when it's finished so I can put that all over the place , Because your story is so unique and people are going to stop and say , wait what ? They will definitely buy this book .
Speaker 2Definitely , will definitely buy this book . I feel like you know , with the story . I feel like I feel like it does get noticed , you know , but at the same time I feel like it doesn't get out there to enough people .
Speaker 1you know , right for sure , and I wrote a book called Turning Pain Into Strength , and I wrote a book called Turning Pain into Strength because I broke my back . I mean , I just had to do a podcast so that other people can tell their stories and inspire people . So I appreciate you so much .
Speaker 2Thank you . That is inspiring 13 surgery I could never picture that , you know . Yeah , it made me stronger . You survived inside .
Speaker 1I did , I did and you keep continuing .
Speaker 2It continues .
Speaker 1Cass , this was a great . I'm so glad I got to meet you you make the world such a better place .
Speaker 2Thank you , I appreciate that . And also , you know you just told me that story , realize . You know I'm grateful . You know that I've never had back problems and you know I'm sure it still doesn't feel right to this day , but at the same time it's like a blessing that you , you know you are able to walk and do what you want with the podcast , you know yes , very fortunate , and it's great that we can see our lives for the better , and then we take that gift that we have and then we try to help others .
Speaker 2Try our best , you know .
Speaker 1Absolutely , absolutely . Well , cass , before we wrap up the interview , any last things you want to say , besides your cheese story ?
Speaker 2first arrived to Ohio , I hated the snow and I hated the cold .
Speaker 1I bet .
Speaker 2As soon as I saw that , I , you know , freaked out . I was not expecting that , because , being born in Haiti , I was used to the heat , and that's what you know led me to St Augustine , florida today I'm on the other side of you .
Speaker 1I'm on Cape Coral .
Speaker 2Oh really , I mean actually funny . I um I have a one of my Gallaudet teammates is in Cape Coral and you know um I went to visit over on . Yeah , new use yeah .
Speaker 1Wow , small world . Well , like I said , cass cas , you are amazing , absolutely amazing . I know everyone is proud of you and I know your story is going to inspire other people , and thank you so much thank you for having me all right , will you take care of yourself ? Thank , you all right cas . Have a good rest of your week .
